In a vehicle powered by a fuel cell power system, a fuel cell generates energy that may be supplied to various devices (e.g., power inverters, electric fans, etc.) via an HV bus. A fuel cell refers to one or more cells (e.g., a stack) that are commonly arranged in electrical series and typically include conductive elements (e.g., plates) having channels or openings formed therein for distributing an appropriate coolant throughout the fuel cell. The coolant is in electrical contact with an anode of the fuel cell. The conductivity of the coolant typically degrades due to factors such as ionization effects and material contamination. It is desirable to prevent the coolant from undesirably conducting electricity and thereby providing an electrical path to a ground (e.g., a vehicle chassis).
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide methods and apparatus for monitoring the coolant conductivity of a fuel cell. Additionally, it is desirable to provide low cost and relatively non-intrusive methods and apparatus for continuously measuring the coolant conductivity of a fuel cell. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.